Nobel Prize Lecture by Author Toni Morrison. Term Paper

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Nobel Prize lecture by author Toni Morrison. Specifically, it will contain a summary and response to the author's lecture. Morrison's essay uses her medium -- language -- to convey the meaning of words and the importance of the people who keep language alive. Her lecture is a commanding look at the power of language, and how language can change the world -- for better or worse.

Morrison's lecture begins with a parable about an old blind woman who is a wise leader of her people. To challenge her, some young people come and demand to know whether the bird they hold is dead or alive. Her wise answer is the basis for Morrison's lecture, because she uses language and its nuances to answer the challenge, and to challenge the young people in return. Morrison goes on to decry dead language that is used for political and social gains, and urge people to do the best they can with language, because it, in the end, is all people truly have. She notes, "We die. That may be the meaning of life. But we do language.

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That may be the measure of our lives" (Morrison). She goes on to show how language can be a tool, a weapon, and a device for change. It is also a medium of trust, and so it must be treated with respect and love.

It is clear Morrison truly loves language, and she uses it so effectively, it is easy to see why. Her lecture is a plea to people to use language wisely or not at all, because it is such a powerful medium. It records history, and it can change the fate of humankind. She continues in her lecture, "You, old woman, blessed with blindness, can speak the language that tells us what only language can: how to see without pictures. Language alone protects us from the scariness of things with no names. Language alone is meditation" (Morrison). Language can indeed help the blind see and the deaf hear. Morrison's use of the language shows that, and illustrates how important….....

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